July 2001 Africa News Headlines

Tuesday, July 17, 2001 - Web posted at 10:47:13 GMT

Prostitutes raided in Algeria

ALGIERS- Algerian security forces arrested seven men accused of taking part in an attack by some 500 religious fanatics on suspected prostitutes in Hassi Messaoud, newspapers reported yesterday.

Those arrested included an imam, or Muslim prayer leader, who reportedly incited the attack in a sermon at the main mosque, the newspaper L'Authentique reported.

The knife-wielding men carried out what was termed a "punitive expedition" against the women living in poor districts of Hassi Messaoud, a major oil centre where many foreign workers live, on Friday.

Twenty women had their faces slashed in the attack, press reports said.

The city, located some 800 kilometres southeast of Algiers, was calm but tense following the raid, Monday newspapers reported.

Press reports said the unmarried women, some of them widows with small children, had come to the city from the north in search of employment and were working as domestic servants.

In the sermon they were accused of having "loose morals." - Nampa-Sapa-AFP

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